Je vais au restaurant avec Paul.

I

Breakdown of Je vais au restaurant avec Paul.

• Paul: Paul
• avec: with
• aller: to go
• le restaurant: the restaurant
• au: to the

Questions & Answers about Je vais au restaurant avec Paul.

Why is it au restaurant instead of à le restaurant?

Because à plus le contracts into au in French. Whenever à is followed by the masculine article le, it becomes au. In other words, à + le → au. If you were talking about a feminine place, for instance la boulangerie, you would say à la boulangerie without a contraction.

Why do we use avec Paul to say "with Paul"?

Avec is the standard French preposition for "with." It's a straightforward translation: avec just always indicates being in someone's company or bringing something along.

What tense is Je vais?

Je vais is the present tense of aller, meaning "I go" or "I am going." English often uses the present continuous ("I am going") to show an action in progress, while in French you just use the simple present tense for the same idea. You could also say Je suis en train d'aller if you really want to emphasize the action is in progress, but that's more specific and less common.

Does the present tense in French also indicate a future action, like "I am going to do something"?

Yes, French can use aller plus an infinitive to talk about the near future. For example, Je vais manger literally means "I go to eat," but it’s actually understood as "I am going to eat" in the near future.

Do I need an article before Paul in French?

No. Proper names in French don’t usually need an article, so you just say avec Paul without adding le or la. This is similar to English, where you also don’t typically say "with the Paul."